I have to wonder what would happen if we sent everyone else away and just walked in there and punched them to death. They haven't damaged the plant deliberately so that suggests they're not designed to attack machines. And we're a machine so...

Similarly curious about how they'd react to fellow Nephilim like Kruze. You might want LA to not damage the ship too much or your own boarders so you could capture it mostly intact.

I have to wonder what would happen if we sent everyone else away and just walked in there and punched them to death. They haven't damaged the plant deliberately so that suggests they're not designed to attack machines. And we're a machine so...

Similarly curious about how they'd react to fellow Nephilim like Kruze. You might want LA to not damage the ship too much or your own boarders so you could capture it mostly intact.

Kruze would most likely be coded as 'don't kill'. Cody and The Captain may be ok, the Vargarti (Corp) were generally ignored during the War and the Palantor don't have the exact same characteristics as Mechanoids. However, LA do have self-defense instincts, so even if you're not a prey species if you start damaging them they will respond.

(Kruze is quite knowledgeable in regards to the common Neph genotypes, so you have easy access to this info)

Kruze would most likely be coded as 'don't kill'. Cody and The Captain may be ok, the Vargarti (Corp) were generally ignored during the War and the Palantor don't have the exact same characteristics as Mechanoids. However, LA do have self-defense instincts, so even if you're not a prey species if you start damaging them they will respond.

(Kruze is quite knowledgeable in regards to the common Neph genotypes, so you have easy access to this info)

If that's the case, scouting is an even better idea-- there may be something in the ruins, a power system or a defense grid, that our safe people could go in and use to our advantage. There might also be balrogs, of course.

“I’m not fond of letting this situation fester for however long it takes us to arrange some backup, but I also don’t want to go in blind. Kruze give me a perimeter recon. Don’t engage, I just want to know the status of any other entrances or bolt-holes. Cody, send Larry-2 further in. I want to see how bad the infestation is. Jadzi and Hydra, get us a firing position up on the berm, even if we bail I want overwatch just in case."
Your crew nods and attends to their tasks.

You hike back up the berm and help get dug in while Hydra scans the perimeter. You can see some of the radiator fins on her suit start to glow a dull red, the tropical heat continuing to take its toll on the huge Legion woman. You key a private comm channel, no sense in embarrassing her.”Not to be a mother hen, but are you going to be ok if things get loud?” “Yessir. I’m currently running a bit warm to ease the strain on the suit. If its needed, I can overcharge the cooling system to get me into full combat readiness. We’d need to replace some of the part later, but that’s better than getting heatstroke in the middle of a firefight. While we’re on the subject of readiness, I’d like you to take this.”

She fishes a small object out of her pack and hands it to you. A small particle pistol, a Protectron™ model. A marvel of Corporate mass production, it was so cheap it was known to be given away as a door prize.“I know you have your issues with weapons, but I’d like you to have something. For my own peace of mind.”

You nod and take the pistol, mag-locking it to one of your thigh hardpoints. This seems to satisfy Hydra, and she resumes watching the area.

*****
T-minus 2:42

You’re just putting the finishing touches on your firing position when Kruze materializes out of the jungle, causing poor Jadzi to squawk startledly. Cody looks up from her controller and joins you, flicking Larry-2’s feed to the portavid. “While there are several more entrances like this one, they have all been sealed from the outside. Quite well indeed, a large amount of rubble has been piled in front of each with no room for burrowers to escape. There are a few air vents to the north that are not clogged with debris or vegetation. They would provide another possible attack vector, but they are too small for a large group to pass through quickly.” “Makes sense. It looks like there are a couple other nests along the periphery of the facility, close to what Kruze says are the blocked doors. If they can’t get out to feed, they’re relying on whatever vermin infest the building itself. All told, there’s three other nests with a total pop of what we have here at the ‘main’ entrance.” “Hmmm. Even given high-end estimates of the airflow around and within the facility, it would take several minutes for the activation pheromones from any LA in combat here to reach the outlying nests. If the initial rush could be held off, the attacks from those nests would be a more manageable density. “And I don’t think there are any more further in, the majority of the facility seems to be sealed still. Couldn’t find any hole big enough to fit Larry-2 into, and he’s smaller than the LAs. Did find this though, which was weird.”

She puts a still frame on the portavid, a massive containment door that wouldn’t be out of place on a battleship airlock. It bears the marks of the LAs’ claws, but they’ve barely marred the surface in their quest to breach the room. Signage displaying the Archon’s script has been pulled down, revealing another form of writing underneath, etched in the metal. You find yourself holding your non-existent breath. “I recognize the Archon script, but I don’t know what the one underneath it is. One of the Lost Species?”

You laugh, a short digital bark. “In a manner of speaking Ms. Johns. That’s Español, this was originally a Human facility.

=====
Based on your recon, it looks like this fight would be Evenly Matched. You have tactics, highground, and decent weapons versus their superior numbers and killfury. Things could still go wrong, but you shouldn’t be immediately overrun. The site is also a quasi-functional Human facility, which means its strategic importance just shot through the roof.

Decision: Dealing with the Living Ammunition Nest
You have more info now, but a decision still has to be made.A: Come Back Later In Force
The possibility of salvaging a surviving Human facility means you don’t want to mess this up. Retreat and bring back reinforcementsB: Sneak In
You have several crewmembers that might not be immediately eaten. Sneak in and see if you can access any old security protocols.C: Guns Blazing
You’ve got tactical info now. Set up a killzone and funnel the LA into your guns with napalm encouragement.D: The Ripley Gambit
Even the possibility of Human tech isn’t enough to risk dealing with a possible LA release, use The Jenni to blow up the area.E: Other
Let me know

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at Apr 30, 2018 around 23:21

If we do round up an extermination force as in option A, what are the odds someone else is going to pick up where we left off and take the human facility bounty out from under our nose-equivalents in the time it takes to muster up? (Time-vs-risk)

If we do round up an extermination force as in option A, what are the odds someone else is going to pick up where we left off and take the human facility bounty out from under our nose-equivalents in the time it takes to muster up? (Time-vs-risk)

Well, as of right now you are the only people that know about the Human facility (as far as you know). If you're willing to pay for expedited delivery, you could probably have mercs of some sort here by tomorrow. Of course, there's the possibility that the mercs may recognize New Faithful for what it is and spread the word. Basically, you could most likely get mercs here to clear out the LA in time, but OpSec becomes a bigger concern.

Well, as of right now you are the only people that know about the Human facility (as far as you know). If you're willing to pay for expedited delivery, you could probably have mercs of some sort here by tomorrow. Of course, there's the possibility that the mercs may recognize New Faithful for what it is and spread the word. Basically, you could most likely get mercs here to clear out the LA in time, but OpSec becomes a bigger concern.

And how well do we know the local mercenary companies? Any that we suspect actually wouldn't try to screw us over because of the prize?

And how well do we know the local mercenary companies? Any that we suspect actually wouldn't try to screw us over because of the prize?

The only ones you have had personal contact with are the Tribunes. They would probably deal you square unless Auxilia Command said otherwise. Cody has a Yelp-equivalent for the Mishpachan merc companies (the ones that can get here relatively quickly), and there's a few with excellent ratings in professionalism. But its still a risk to keep in mind.

As much as bringing in a few squads of mercs to do the sweep-and-clear for you appeals, this is too big of a prize to risk an opsec breach. Especially with those Black Key jokers floating around. It would be best if your team was equipped with full auto (preferably belt-fed), but what they’ve got should do the job. Kruze with her biledriver, Jadzi with her SMG, Cody with Hydra’s rifle on a bipod, and Curly with its particle rifle form a firing line on the top of the berm. Hydra has her mortar set up, the applicable ranges already programmed in. You nod to Cody who’s guiding Larry-2 through the air vent, two napalm grenades clutched in its stubby manipulators. “Alright Cody, deliver the invitation.”

She nods, and taps the controller. All is relatively quiet for a few moments, then there is a muted fwooosh from inside the facility followed by cries of pain and anger. The repaired door holds long enough for Cody to put a few armor-piercing rounds through it, but its quickly forced off its hinges by the crush of Living Ammunition bodies. Many are growing as you watch, newly hatched from eggs that survived the napalm. They mill about for a split-second before sighting Jadzi and rushing towards your position. Spines, acid spit, and bullets soon fill the air.

The firing line, aided by your onboard targeting algorithms, corral the horde long enough for Hydra to drop mortar after mortar on it. Its going better than you’d projected, the initial horde quickly a quarter of its original size when Curly lets out a loud electronic wail. “WARNING! FLANKING MANEUVER DETECTED! UNIT HAS PASSED DAMAGE THRESHOLD, PLEASE RETURN TO AUTHORIZED TEChnician.”

You turn to see it facing south, several spines already lodged it its torso. Small electrical arcs ground themselves into the soil as its obviously punctured powerpack discharges.

The jungle has betrayed you, it seems that at least one of the secondary nests has taken the long path through the canopy and is preparing to pounce. You’re still in decent shape, but if you don’t deal with this new group quickly you will lose tactical control of the situation.

=====
You didn’t get a full round of successes, so some damage was taken and a tactical wrinkle pops up.

Decision: Tactical ResponseA: Grenade Salvo
Probably the safest option, but will use up your grenadesB: Jadzi Runs Interference
Use your resident prey species to lure the LA into a better position. Puts Jadzi in dangerC: Retarget Mortar
Have Hydra switch fire zones and hope the firing line can hold out on their own.D: Fighting Retreat
Pull back while firing, get some distance between you and the LA. You may run into jungle-related issues.E: Other
What’s your gamewinner?